A meditative rendition of the Hymn of the Cherubim by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. This was performed by Kim Martin and Jonathan Bardolph using Hereford Cathedral Hauptwerk organ samples. Relax, enjoy the visuals and reflect on the meaning.
The "Hymn of the Cherubim" is an excerpt from Pyotr Tchaikovsy's Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Op. 41 (1878), a sacred a capella choral work and the first unified musical setting of the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom (347-407), Archbishop of Constantinople.
This hymn, The Cherubikon (Greek), is sung at the Great Entrance of the Byzantine liturgy and symbolically incorporates those present at the liturgy into the presence of the angels gathered around God's throne. This excerpt translates:
We who mystically represent the Cherubim,
and who sing to the life-giving Trinity the thrice-holy hymn,
let us now lay aside all earthly cares.
